Film Fan Friday-Monsters are Universal

In the early days of Horror Films nobody did it better or sometimes worse than Universal Pictures,  It was a trend in those days to take the title of a famous monster/horror story and make a movie out of it.  there were many successes, Dracula, Frankenstein, and The Invisible Man stand out as some of the Classics that have stood the test of time.

On the flip side...The Raven and The Black Cat have little to do with anything written by Poe and are better left to amusing machinations of a comical horror movie host.

The Wolf Man and Mummy, while not based on literature, were also quite successful.  These stories were based on the rise in Egyptology during the 1930's and classic Eastern European folklore.

The source is irrelevant.  Like all film trends, there are good and bad entries in the big bad log book of Universal Monster Movies.  There were sequels that were not as good as the original and there were some that were superior.

In most cases, if there was source material, it was not strictly adhered to.  Most of the films shift from the original sources.  There are missing moments and missing characters.  Some of the plot was changed as to not offend the standards of the time.

The writers of these things were hamstrung by what they could adapt and how quickly the production deadline was approaching.  Horror movies were seen less as art and mor a good way to get money out of kids who were just looking for a good fright.

It fell mostly on the skill of actors in state of the art 1930's makeup to raise or lower the quality of the movie.  Many talented actors transcended the horror genre and entered into legitimate films and theater.  Some were hard pressed to get work outside of the genre.  One, notably, took too much heroin and died.  You can do the individual research on your own.

We owe much of the success of modern horror films to the Universal Films and their talented actors.  Below is, I believe, the quintessential list of classic Universal Horror films.  These are the ones that terrified me when i was 9 years old.

Lon Chaney, Sr.

The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Unrated | 93 min | Horror | 15 November 1925 (USA)

A mad, disfigured composer seeks love with a lovely young opera singer.

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (I) (1923)
Unrated | 133 min | Drama, Romance | 6 September 1923 (USA)

In fifteenth century Paris, the brother of the archdeacon plots with the gypsy king to foment a peasant revolt. Meanwhile, a freakish hunchback falls in love with the gypsy queen.

Lon Chaney, Jr.

Frankenstein (1931)
Not Rated | 70 min | Horror, Sci-Fi | 21 November 1931 (USA)

An obsessed scientist assembles a living being from parts of exhumed corpses.

Bela Lugosi

Dracula (1931)
Approved | 85 min | Horror | 14 February 1931 (USA)

The ancient vampire Count Dracula arrives in England and begins to prey upon the virtuous young Mina.

Elsa Lanchester

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Not Rated | 75 min | Horror, Sci-Fi | 22 April 1935 (USA)

Mary Shelley reveals the main characters of her novel survived: Dr. Frankenstein (goaded by an even madder scientist) builds his monster a mate.

                                                   

Boris Karloff

The Mummy (1932)

Not Rated | 73 min | Horror

| 22 December 1932 (USA)

A living mummy stalks the beautiful woman he believes is the reincarnation of his lover.

Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954)
Approved | 79 min | Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi | 5 March 1954 (USA)

A strange prehistoric beast lurks in the depths of the Amazonian jungle. A group of scientists try to capture the animal and bring it back to civilization for study.

The Wolf Man (1941)
Approved | 70 min | Drama, Horror | 12 December 1941 (USA)

A practical man returns to his homeland, is attacked by a creature of folklore, and infected with a horrific disease his disciplined mind tells him can not possibly exist.



The Invisible Man (1933)
Not Rated | 71 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi | 13 November 1933 (USA)

A scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane.